Roman Catholics: Requiem for a Cardinal

Francis Cardinal Spellman once said
that he wanted only to have the fu neral of a simple priest. The Roman
Catholic Church, however, is not inclined to honor its spiritual
princes with the trappings of humility. His funeral last week  seen
by millions on television  was the nation's most impressive since
that of John Kennedy.

During the five days that Spellman's body lay in state in St. Patrick's
Cathedral, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers filed past the
catafalque in tribute. For the funeral service, the cathedral was
jammed to...